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Consideration of request from City Attorney’s Office, Engineering Division, and Police Department for amendments to Chapters 11.50 and 11.51 and Section 11.40.450, and creation of Section 11.40.460, regarding electric bicycles, electric scooters, micromobility devices, and out-of-class electric vehicles (e-motos)
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Submitted by:
Cody Pansing, Assistant City Attorney
Elizabeth Saunderson, Multimodal Transportation Engineer
Luke Vetter, Deputy Chief of Police
Department
City Attorney’s Office
DPW – Engineering Division
Police Department
Issue
Whether the Committee should recommend that the Common Council adopt amendments to Chapter 11.50 (Electric Scooters, Electric Bicycles, and Other Micromobility Devices), Chapter 11.51 (Dockless Micromobility Systems), and Section 11.40.450 (Unauthorized Motor Vehicles), and create a new Section 11.40.460 prohibiting the operation of out-of-class electric vehicles, commonly called “e-motos,” on City streets, paths, sidewalks, and public lands.
Background/Options
Chapter 11.50 was adopted in 2019 (Ord. O-19-24), primarily to address electric scooters and dockless micromobility systems. Since then, electric bicycle use has grown substantially, as has the availability of higher-powered electric vehicles that are often sold as e-bikes but exceed the state definition of an electric bicycle. These devices are frequently ridden by minors.
Under state law, an electric bicycle is a bicycle with fully operative pedals and an electric motor of 750 watts or less that falls within one of three classes. Wis. Stat. § 340.01(15ph). Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes stop providing motor assistance at 20 miles per hour, and Class 3 e-bikes are pedal-assist only and stop at 28 miles per hour. An electric bicycle generally has the same rights and duties as a bicycle, and no person under 16 may operate a Class 3 electric bicycle. Wis. Stat. § 346.806(1), (4). A device that exceeds those limits is not a bicycle. It is a motor vehicle subj...
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